A Very Whisler Christmas

Puzzles!!! Mom bought us a bunch of Europe-themed puzzles to work on while we were all home for Christmas. I slept through a lot of it, but did manage to help some! Here are some of the finished products:

Notre Dame, Paris, France

Nyhavn, Copenhagen, Denmark

Paris, France

Dun Aengus, Aran Islands, Ireland

We also finished another Ireland one, and are still struggling with the Moscow sky above St. Basil's Church......

And a little more Christmas:

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Liam was kind enough to send me the picture of our other finished puzzle:

Stay tuned for the final one.....it might be a while :p

A New Christmas Tradition

For I-don't-even-know-how-long, it has been a Christmas tradition for my siblings and I to watch Die Hard on Christmas morning. I am not really sure how this came about, how Die Hard became our favorite Christmas movie, but such is life. I do suppose the tradition started partially because of the 6 a.m. rule.

Most of our presents were wrapped and under the tree before Christmas, but Santa would come in the night and fill our stockings and leave, unwrapped, our best gift, the "Santa gift." So, naturally, we were very excited to get up as early as possible to see what was left under the tree (and start munching on the candy in our stockings). So, we would decide before bed that whoever woke up first would wake up the others straight away and we would head down to check out the gifts together. Generally, this was around 4 a.m. Now, for so crazy reason, our parents did not want to be woken up this early, so the rule was to not wake them up before 6.

Those of you skilled at math will notice this leaves two hours between children wake up time and present-opening time, and when you add in the antsy excitement of Christmas morning, two hours feels a lot like ten. So, how to make the time go by faster? Well, Die Hard, of course! Pop that baby in and spend a couple of hours enthralled by the antics of John McClane. Fantastic, I know.

As we've gotten older, we've stopped waking up quite so early, and, more importantly, we let the 'rents wake up when they will, but we always watch our movie sometime during the morning.

And now, we've added a new layer to our Christmas movie watching tradition.

It all started at karaoke about ten days before Christmas. Josey and I were trying to decide what movies to watch together and had a great idea -- let's do a 'degrees' thing, watch a movie, and then the next movie must have an actor from the previous movie. We started with Peacemaker, and then (using Nicole Kidman) went to Moulin Rouge. And then, on the way to picking Amber up from the airport, the truly amazing idea hit Josey: the 12 movies of Christmas -- get from Peacemaker to Die Hard in exactly 12 movies! We filled Amber in, and really started pounding it out. There were a few rules: an actor can only be used as a link once; we must own each movie; and only two movies cannot be used from the same series. And, of course, it would be nice to have movies we actually like. So here are the 12 movies of Christmas for 2011:


1) Peacemaker (Nicole Kidman to)
2) Moulin Rouge (Ewan McGregor to)
3) Star Wars: The Phantome Menace (Liam Neeson to)
4) Batman Begins (Christian Bale to)
5) Equilibrium (Sean Bean to)
6) Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Hugo Weaving to)
7) V for Vendetta (John Hurt -- thanks Momma for that! -- to)
8) Alien (Signourney Weaver to)
9) The Village (Joaquin Phoenix to)
10) Gladiator (Richard Harris to)
11) Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Alan Rickman to)
12) Die Hard!!

We actually worked from both ends, and tried to get from LOTR to Gladiator in 3 moves. It was all thanks to mom, who came up with the John Hurt connection. So, we spent the next week popping these movies in (and, honestly, hardly watching them). The most fun was actually the making of the list. Next year, we will be adding in complications -- like getting movies from certain genres or picking several movies we want included. And, of course, we'll be starting with a different movie. But will always be finding our way to Die Hard.

Greensboro, baby

"What goes around comes around" I think that's an adequate saying for the circumstances. Last year, I was stinky enough to trick mom into thinking I was staying in Denmark with Rasmus over Christmas, and surprised her with coming home. I promised her I would do no such thing this year, since I really didn't know at the time if I would come back or not, and I decided not to, I didn't want her secretly hoping I was.

Anyways, I arrived in North Carolina late Tuesday night, and Amber and Liam picked me up at the airport -- with Pepsi One and Cheerios to keep me occupied on the way home. I'm pretty sure I only got about 2 hours of sleep that night -- after being awake for basically 24. (Don't worry, I've more than made up for it over the last day and a half; even a six hour nap in the middle of the afternoon, which, by the way, is more like Russia time than Europe time).

Amber and I can't remember what we did all the next day -- went to the grocery store......but we decided to go out to eat at TGI Fridays. We were going to meet Liam there after he got off work, and Amber told me that one of his friends from out of town was coming to eat with us as well.

We get there, say 'hi' to Liam, and sit down. Then his friend comes back from the bathroom -- and it's a girl (I was expected a boy from some reason). wait. Oh. my. goodness. I know your face!!! I literally did a double take. AUDRA was sitting across the table from me :o

She flew into Charlotte a few days ago, rented a car and drove down to South Carolina to visit Megan, and came back up to surprise me!!!!!!! Wooo!!!!

So, we've been having a blast. I fell asleep when we got back from the restaurant and missed some dough making, but we made more cookies the next day, and went shopping and went to see the new Twilight movie. We've had grilled cheese and fasta pasta and eaten out at some of Amber and Liam's favorite places. We went searching for gemstones and walking around Blowing Rock, and played some Rock Band. A-mazing!

:-) It's good to be back.

There goes the baker with his tray, like always...

...the same old bread and loaves to sell!

France -- a dangerous place for any-a Disney fan. Where a simple greeting turns the day into a musical and a mere passerby into a chorus member. I'm staying in a little town (it's a quiet village, every day, like the one before) called Ferney-Voltaire, just across the border from Geneva. Proof it's small, you ask? How about a look at my neighbors:

Yep, we've got cows.

Every morning, I send the boys off across the border and into a mystical land of underground tunnels and particles that travel faster-than-light. (Don't worry, I get to visit before I head back across the pond.)

Anyway, the weather is beautiful, the mountains surrounding are lovely, and even the cows - with their jingling bells - have a certain charm. Also, our hotel room has a spiral staircase, which, though slightly impractical, is pretty cool, too. Not a bad way to spend a couple of weeks.

Happy 2004!

Yes, you read that correctly. September 12, 2011 is the start of Ethopian New year, which, due to different mathematics when creating the calendar, is 2004! We celebrated with my classmate, Helen, who made a ton of delicious food, and then led us out to our 'garden' here at the dorms (which we would call a lawn), put on traditional Ethiopian music and taught us several traditional dances. Well, I should say, attempted to teach us. I am quite certain we looked absolutely ridiculous (I believe one of my fellow DILL'ers got some video of it, I'll see if I can get my hands on it), but Helen was very supported as we flapped around in a circle about her. It was a lot of shoulder shrugging which she made look so easy!! We danced so much that we flattened our little circle of grass.

Ethiopian dances under the full moon in Italy :-) Perfetto.

Worry

I'm exhausted. And not for any good concrete reason. But from that wretched familiar who often sneaks into the center of my chest, and, when not quickly abated settles in deep, twisting and turning until every breath labors in its presence. It puts me at odds -- making my body restless, unwilling to sit still, and absorbs my mind, preventing any pursuits of constructive thought.

I discovered a couple of days ago that I may have missed an important step in applying for a residency permit to study in Italy. And may, therefore, be prevented from applying along with my classmates when we arrive in Parma (and possibly at all). I have spent the last few days checking websites, sending emails, attempting to discover if I was previously misinformed about my exemption from this step, if I simply misunderstood what I was told at the time, or if this new information is actually incorrect and I am all hunky-dory.

It's interesting, because thinking about it, I not actually that worried about obtaining the permit itself -- our semester in Italy is a short one, and if I complete my internship elsewhere and make sure I leave for Chirstmas before my Estonian permit expires, I believe I should be fine. I think my biggest fear is more that I misunderstood what I was told, more specifically, if I was the only one who misunderstood, the only one in this boat.

I keep trying to remember the discussions from last May -- our meeting, my visit to the Italian Consulate in Tallinn....trying to figure out if this is really a complete error on my part. I hate the idea that I may have erred.

But, of course, that was months ago, and in truth, it really shouldn't matter. Whether it is needed or not, whether it was misinformation or misunderstanding, makes little difference. And from the looks of things, I won't be able to discover the answer to the former until next week at the earliest. And whatever the answer, there is nothing I can do about it now it seems.

So, why all the useless worry? I have had similar frustrations and fears many, many times in my life, and even more so for the last year and a half of preparing for and traveling around Europe. And everything has managed to work out perfectly fine. 

And this will work out somehow, too. I/we will figure it out and I will be happy-go-lucky again...at least until my next worry comes creeping in to play (here's to hoping it's related to my school work and not paper work!). Until then, here is the poem I found that I will be reading over and over again to myself while taking deep, soothing breathes:

The Peace of Wild Things
By Wendell Berry

"When despair grows in me
and I wake in the middle of the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting for their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free."

An Apartment Daydream

So, maybe it's just me, or maybe it's just the seemingly constant flux of living situations over the last year (Lincoln, Oslo, Copenhagen, Tallinn, Florence, soon to be Parma), but I've gotten into the habit of 'search daydreaming.' This is when I search for various notions that pop into my head, whether it be another exciting masters program, jobs I'm either unqualified for or can't apply for anyway because, well, I'm in Europe, or, as is the case this evening (as the result of a long overdue visit to Fastweb) pretty apartments advertised by vacancy.com. Yes, I who currently live out of a suitcase, dream of some day actually remaining in the same residence long enough to justify owning my own furniture (what a crazy concept!). So I went in search of my perfect apartment.

But, where to look? Well, ever since I moved to Omaha for college, I have had this odd love affair with Bellevue. Maybe because it seemed less intimidating than its large, northern neighbor, but more likely because it would mean shaving 20 minutes off of my drive home to mom. Also, they have a Gordmans.

I found two likely choices – the first, a studio at Fontenelle Hills Apartments. It's got a 'nearness to nature' vibe going on, which was obviously a plus (especially after living in so many cities; I haven't seen a proper night sky since my Nebraska Christmas!). More importantly, it has a loft. Which, I would rename My Mezzanine, of course, whether it actually was one or not.

http://www.vacancy.com/nebraska/bellevue-apartments/fontenelle-hills-apartments/property-floorplans

Unfortnately for My Mezzanine dreams, Fontenelle Hills was narrowly beat out by Pavilion at Twin Creek:

http://www.vacancy.com/nebraska/bellevue-apartments/pavilion-at-twin-creek/property-floorplans

What put it over the top? Well, for starters, they provide names for their apartment types, saving me some of the effort of coming up with clever names on my own. I mean really, where would you rather live, a one-bedroom apartment, or The Bungalow?

And look at the floor plan! It's not just a walk-in closet, but a walk-through closet, one that I would be able to fill to my heart's content once my life is no longer bound by a 50-pound weight limit. I can see my bright green walls decorated in inspirational quotes (along the lines of Live, Laugh, Love) written in ornate cursive. And the green walls could provide inspiration of their own – like an all green party, where everyone must wear green and eat greens (and make sweets with green food coloring, because what's a Jenny party without a heinous amount of sugar?).

I can toss my dirty clothes straight into my full size washer; tell myself that I will visit the 24-hour gym daily; jump over to Twin Creek theater to catch the latest chick flick; and, when I'm missing momma, hop on Kennedy Freeway and be back home within the hour – traffic permitting.

Alright, mini-daydream over. Time to return to my oh-so-dull life of studying Italian in Florence, Italy. Ciao, ciao, ciao, buonasera, and good night!

Rasmus has been whining

Because I haven't updated my blog in 47 days.


I have told him repeatedly that I stink at blogging. We all know this.

Why does he have to be so mean about it? Good question.



On top of that, Amber and Audra are here in Copenhagen agreeing with him. Rude.

BUT. GUESS WHAT!? Amber and Audra are here in COPENHAGEN. With ME.

We karaoke'd last night. Also, we sang most of the way home. We even made a fan. I like to think that if the bus stop had been a virtual world, everyone there would have "Liked" us. I mean, who couldn't love listening to us sing A Whole New World?

I would love to promise you pictures and stories and all that jazz, but I now feel that it is useless for me to say such things. We all just get disappointed. The best I can say is that I will try -- something Yoda would approve of not.

Take a look at our new DILL website!

http://dill.hio.no/new-dill-website-online/

And look for a familiar name :p

Part II: The Moscow Metro

Random sculpture outside metro

And another....:p

 

 

 

 

Oh. my. gods. I loved the Moscow metro. We each bought ten tickets (which was definitely overkill :p). They cost less than a dollar a piece, which I thought was pretty darn cheap! The whole system is just such a well-oiled machine, and so user-friendly that even small-town-Nebraska Jenny who has the most basic understanding of the Russian alphabet was not only able to manage, but to thrive. First, the trains come nearly every 90 seconds (there is even a counter that tells you how many seconds have passed since the last train). Also, there are actually very few stops considering how big the city is -- I was looking at Paris' metro, which has 300 stations compared to Moscow's 184. While the people who actually have to get around the city on a daily basis likely see this as a downside, it was great for me, because there was less information to deal with. Several of the lines are very far underground, so I got to ride on incredibly long escalators. It was brilliant. And the stations themselves were beautiful as well. Fantastic! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Never-ending escalator!!

The name of one of our stations...gotta love the Cyrillic :p

Uber-fast trains!

The metro stations were very beautiful :)

See? :D

Part I: The Road to Russia (via Riga)

We're back! And there is so much to tell, and I would like to (attempt to) tell it all. So, I'm going to try to do it in chapters, so I don't have to spend an age on one post. Plus, we took about 500 pictures, and I want to spread them out a bit.

The first step, was, of course, the trip into Russia, to Moscow, specifically. For some reason (probably because it was cheaper), I booked tickets on a bus that first went four hours west to Riga, Latvia, and then went west to Moscow from there. All in all, a 19 hour journey.

Besides a slightly late bus, the first leg from the Tallinn bus station to Riga went smoothly, though the driver seemed over eager to pass on an over-busy, two-lane highway. Lots of speeding up and slowing down and weaving over the line to see if there was enough room to pass, and back again, as often as not there was oncoming traffic. The beginning of a long, tumultuous journey for my poor tummy.

But, the scenery was beautiful. Thick forests of birch and pine trees. Slender trunks huddled in close communion.

23!!!

I tried to get a picture of the Estonian forest, but it was blurry! So here's a field!

Latvian advertising :p

Riga's Eiffel Tower

We were in Riga for a little less than an hour, and then right back on another bus. I think I can safely say that this was both the longest and by far the most uncomfortable ride I have experienced. Not only was it a 15 hour trip, but from Riga to the Russian border, there was no highway. Just ill-maintained roads, weaving in and out and around little-known areas of the Latvian countryside. I could not believe that this could be the quickest way to get from the capital of Latvia to the capital of Russia, but, well....Google maps says so :p Let me put this into perspective:

To drive from Peru to Cheyenne is 510 miles and takes about 8 hours and 10 minutes

To drive from Riga to Moscow is about the same distance (though we aren't really sure what route we took within Latvia), and even if you minus the hour at the border and about an hour spent driving in Moscow, it was still a 13 hour trip. With very little traffic. That's averaging about 40 mph. And though the road in Russia was far more direct, there were so many horrible potholes that the driver often had to slow almost to a stop to navigate through them. Definitely an interesting experience....

As was the border. Technically, we had to pass through two borders. First, the EU had to say it was ok for us to leave (checked our passports and tickets) and then 100 yards down the road came the Russian border control, and I was thankful for all that hard work we put into getting our visas. The only problem I had was my poor scarf getting caught in the conveyor belt. There was even a cute, puppy dog to sniff our bags (not near as cute as the one that came on the bus when we left Russia, but still cuddly!).

Sunrise in Russia

Passing the hours...

Napping on my new bag!

After the seemingly endless bus ride, was a great relief, first, to see the high rises in the outskirts of Moscow, and then, at long, long, last, to feel the bus come to a stop, and finally step off into the brisk comparatively fresh, Moscow air.

A super-cool bridge in Moscow

Russia

So, the day is finally here that, after almost an entire day spent traveling, Rasmus and I will be in Moscow!! I can hardly believe it. We won't have long - just 12 short hours to see the big sites, and then it's on to St Petersburg for a couple of days.

I am, obviously, super excited. I have two cameras with lots of extra batteries, so expect lots of pictures! (My classmates went a couple of weeks ago and managed to take well over 300 pictures, and I would not be outdone ;p), Plus I have my fully charged Kindle and ipod (and even a paperback book) to entertain me while in transit. Hopefully that will be enough.

I wish I could take my stuffed puppy Nip/Tuck, but we are traveling uber-light, which is totally my new thing. It's  a bit challenging, of course, trying to decide exactly what to put into the small shoulder back that I'm taking, but when I pick it up, I get very excited at how light it is. And when you're doing a lot of walking with nowhere to drop off your stuff, the lighter the better! It reminds me how far I've come, from packing a massive bag stuffed full for a 10 day choir trip, to now attempting to fit a four day trip into a tiny laptop bag. I still managed to secure room for my make up, though.



I started a post several days ago about the wondrous beauties of Tallinn's late-coming spring, but blogspot is having some issues, so I couldn't get in. Hopefully, I'll be able to, as I finally took some lovely pictures of Tallinn! Otherwise, I hope all is wonderful, and I will try to write something spectacular when I return.

LOVE!
Jennywren

Top 10 Reasons I STILL haven't submitted my application for a Russian Tourist Visa

 So, Rasmus and I have planned and paid for a trip to Russia in May, and the only hurdle left is to apply for our tourist visas. Unfortunately, even after 3 vexing trips to the Russian Consulate here in Tallinn, we have not been able to complete the application process, and here are the Top 10 reasons why:

10. The print shop is about a 20 minute walk away, making printing documents highly inconvenient.
9. Though the form states: "Important! Please type or print using ballpoint", what it actually means is using a black ballpoint pen, not blue. Apparently, this was clearly written on a sign in the consular office, but, of course, it was written in Russian.
8. The two, identical, two-page forms that were meticulously filled out in blue, were the wrong size anyway -- the top and bottom margins were slightly too large.
7. Europeans must have health insurance for their visit, though it's optional for Americans.
6. You must have forms that that clearly prove that this insurance is current and valid for Russia.
5. Though the office is open in the afternoon, visa applications must be submitted in the mornings. This was posted in the office - in English this time - but nowhere on their website, and not in emails responses about visa submission and opening hours.
4. The required invitation from a Russian hotel company must be signed and stamped.
3. The dates on these invitations must match the start and end dates of your visa, even if you have proof of the tickets for the night buses you will be taking to Moscow and from St Petersburg showing your arrival and departure on the invitation dates.
2. Your visa must include both days you are on the night buses, because you cannot guarantee what time of night you will cross the Russian border, and if it's on the wrong side of midnight, they won't let you in/out.
1. Russian bureaucracy.

Here's to hoping that the fourth time will be charmed for us.

Karaoke!

So, this past weekend, I had my first experience of Karaoke in Tallinn. Finally. I know what you're thinking, how could it have taken me nearly two months to resurrect my classic past time. I've been asking myself the same question. Needless to say, it was an absolute blast :)

Here's a look at first performance -- it was too dark to get good video, but you can just imagine my craziness:



Yes, I messed up the words.....embarrassing, I know. Anyway, it was so much fun, and some of my classmates got up there to sing, too! We're even considering starting a karaoke night :p

missing you,
jennywren

Sunset on Toompea Hill

A few more photos of me hitting the ice....

Social butterflies -- the only ones to survive the winter

Despite the wretched cold and bitter wind, I was not holed up in my cozy apartment all weekend at least. In fact, compared to my normal weekend activities back in good ole Lincoln, I was quite the social butterfly!

Saturday night, we were invited to an Estonian student's apartment to partake in a traditional Estonian meal. So, after meeting up and shopping at Rimi, the supermarket, we had a lovely dinner of meat and potatoes -- followed by chocolate ice cream, which we ate straight out of the carton with spoons. Just the way I like it. There were 10-12 of us maybe, several Estonians, but also French, Lithuanian, Finnish -- who I should be meeting up with in Helsinki this spring!

Yesterday, we went ice skating! It's been a while since I've done it, so I was just enjoying the fact that I wasn't falling down and it was sunny, and then I looked and saw this:

Photos courtesy of Miss Adina :)

and remembered, oh, yeah, I'm in the heart of Old Town in Tallinn, Estonia ice skating with my friends from around the world. How crazy is that? After being over here for so long, getting into a rhythm, a routine, thinking about the weather and the classes, and buying groceries, it's so easy to forget that this isn't normal at all! Once in a life time and all that. :p

I really can't wait for spring, though. It's hovering around 0 degrees (Fahrenheit) with a wind chill that I can't even explain. And I realized that I really miss my nice warm car! Walking around for even ten minutes outside is just plain painful! I also have been informed that Nebraska is experiencing some 50-60 degree weather. Rude.

Missing Nebraska's random weather, but missing you guys more,
jennywren

Chocolate!

Rasmus and I tried out the Pierre Chocolaterie today, tucked away in one of the many nooks and crannies in Tallinn's Old Town. It was absolutely amazing. The decor is old fashioned and kind of hodge-podge, but the hot chocolate is to die for. It was actual melted chocolate (imagine dipping cappuccino flats) and milk, and it was so rich that, even with a little help from Rasmus, I had to leave some in the cup. Even just a little bit of it was incredibly satisfying....mmmmm.

The letter E

So, the other day I heard "Total Eclipse of the Heart" on the radio. But it was in Estonian....I think. Languages are hard -- and there are so many of them. I wanted to buy some fabric softener, but I couldn't tell which bottle to buy (There was no cuddly bear on the front of any of them). I looked on the back and there were fourteen languages on the back. 14! And I didn't have any chance at all with a single one of them. Not even some norsk or espanol for me to stumble through. Needless to say, my towels are not huggably soft. *sigh* I should probably do some research before attempting to buy things next time.

I'm in a women's choir here in Tallinn. It's a little difficult, because the instruction is in Estonian, as are most of the songs (the rest are in Russian :p), but everyone is incredibly nice. And I love to sing :) obviously. We'll be recording the songs we are singing, so hopefully I'll be able to share some with you!

missing home, missing you,
jennywren

What *is* knowledge management?

I spent over six hours reading articles, watching videos, and writing summaries about what knowledge management actually is, just to discover no one actually seems to know. Go figure.

Stop ganging up on me.

I'm in Tallinn. It's icy.

I've blogged.